Harry Potter and the Second War
by Superq
Summary: Its is... well... Harry potter and the second war against voldemort.
1. Authors Note

Ahhhhh.... another fan fic by me! lol j/k this is my second fic. I like it a lot! so yeah, please  
  
review it and blah, blah, blah, you get the rest! :) tell me what you think! I will add more chapters  
  
as people respond, so I know if I should keep going or not! :)  
  
Kiss, Kiss!   
  
-Suz  
  
Disclaimer: I don not, nor will I ever own any of the Harry Potter characters! I did, however, mae  
  
up these stories on my own time and would appreciate it if you did not steal them! Thanx! :) 


	2. Closer than ever

Harry Potter sat in a plush room on a tall armchair. This was his new room at number twelve  
  
Grimmauld Place. Over the summer following his fifth year, they had cleaned more and worked  
  
very hard to clean the home, eventually resulting beautifully. Now the house was quite clear of  
  
black magic, and had very nice furnishings. Kreacher still stumbled about, mumbling rude things  
  
under his breath. Other than that, Grimmauld Place was a very nice home now.   
  
Harry's room was the one Sirius had growing up, with burgundy walls and a large burgundy and  
  
gold rug on the floor. Harry had a large bed with a burgundy down comforter and a large dresser  
  
on which stood a few photographs. One was of Harry's two best friends, Ron and Hermione,  
  
smiling and waving at him. Another was of his late godfather, Sirius Black, and the last was of  
  
his parents, Lily and James Potter who were holding hands and standing on a beach while the sun  
  
set behind them. This had been given to Harry over the summer and was a great comfort to him  
  
after seeing Snape's Pensive. At least now he knew they had loved each other. All of the photos  
  
were in simple, gold frames. He stared at the pictures, but a frown remained on his face. He  
  
missed Sirius.   
  
Most of the summer he had been at Privet Drive, with the Dursleys simply ignoring him. It was a  
  
nice change–he had been allowed to get second helpings at dinner, and wasn't assigned quite as  
  
many chores as usual. Mrs. Figg had even brought him a chocolate cake on his birthday. Just last  
  
night he had arrived at Grimmauld Place. It had been extremely painful for him to be in Sirius'  
  
old home again. The moment he arrived, he noticed many things. The picture of Sirius' mum had  
  
been removed, and a portrait of Sirius now hung in it's place with a bronze plaque. The floors  
  
were swept and rugs covered them. Harry also noticed the House Elves' heads had been taken  
  
down, and now portraits of members of the Order were there. The one he especially noticed was  
  
one of his parents, Sirius, and Remus. It looked like Peter had been there, but been cut out.  
  
Everyone in the picture was so happy...  
  
Ron and Hermione were both overjoyed to see Harry, but he just muttered hello and ate his  
  
dinner quietly. Since then, he had been in his room lying in the dark or sitting in his armchair  
  
staring at pictures of Sirius and his parents. Mrs. Weasley had come and knocked on his door this  
  
morning with a breakfast tray, but he declined, saying he wasn't hungry. Now it was evening, and  
  
Harry could hear the footsteps outside his door of Hermione, Ron and Ginny who had just  
  
finished dinner. He thought they were all going by, until he heard a quiet knock on the thick door.   
  
He spoke in a low, silent voice. "Who is it?"   
  
The person on the other side of the door quietly responded. "Harry, let me in." he immediately  
  
recognized the voice as Hermione's.   
  
"Come in..." Harry muttered once more. Both Ron and Hermione came into his room. When  
  
Hermione entered the room, he had to admit she had changed a bit over the summer. Her hair  
  
was bushy as always, but a little more under control than usual, and she had grown a few inches,  
  
causing her legs to seem very long and awkward. Today she was wearing jeans and a light blue t-  
  
shirt, with white tennis shoes. She had pulled her hair up and put a light blue ribbon in it, (though  
  
it was still quite bushy) and had actually gotten her ears pierced and wore tiny rhinestone studs.  
  
Hermione even wore a small amount of makeup now, with light lip gloss. She had come quite a  
  
way since first year, but she was still the same know-it-all Hermione Granger.   
  
Ron had also grown some, now standing at about six feet. Over the summer his freckles had  
  
multiplied, and he now wore his hair in a shorter fashion. His grin was more crooked than ever,  
  
Harry noticed, even as little as he had seen it. Ron's voice had dropped several octaves and  
  
whenever he spoke Harry looked around for someone older before realizing it was actually Ron.  
  
Today Ron was wearing a pair of pants that were about two inches two short, and an orange  
  
Chudley Cannons t-shirt that clashed terribly with his hair.   
  
They came into the room and sat on the edge of Harry's bed. Both of them were frowning, and  
  
looked at each other. Ron nodded, and Hermione began speaking.   
  
"Harry..it's not healthy to stay in this dark room all day...come on out..." When she finished her  
  
sentence, Ron started in. Harry knew that they must have memorized this carefully.  
  
"We're both really sorry Sirius died, mate...but you've got to move on..." Harry got very mad  
  
after Ron made that statement. He stood up from his chair and felt like he could attack both of  
  
them. His familiar feeling from last year was creeping up again.  
  
"YOU TWO DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU TWO BOTH HAVE YOUR PARENTS! YOU  
  
BOTH HAVE FAMILIES! AND WHAT DO I HAVE? I DON'T EVEN HAVE A  
  
GODFATHER ANYMORE! ANY WHY? BECAUSE I WAS TOO THICK AND FELL FOR  
  
VOLDEMORT'S TRICKS! NOW SIRIUS IS DEAD BECUASE OF ME! DO YOU THINK  
  
IT'S EASY TO JUST 'MOVE ON'? I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WHO I COULD  
  
ALMOST CALL FAMILY, AND NOW HE'S NOT EVEN ALIVE BECAUSE OF ME!"  
  
Harry's face was red as he shouted the words out. Hermione was shaking and looked on the  
  
verge of tears. Ron looked even a little frightened.   
  
"It's n–not your f–fault H–Harry...." Hermione managed. A few tears had fallen down her cheeks  
  
now. Harry was beginning to feel bad about his outburst. Ron was patting Hermione on the back  
  
a little as the redness of Harry's face toned down a bit.   
  
"I'm sorry...for acting..like that.." Harry began. He sat back in his chair. "I've just lost so many  
  
people I love...and I feel like It's all my fault S–Sirius died.." he still had trouble saying Sirius'  
  
name.   
  
Hermione had walked to his side now, her eyes rimmed with red. She placed a hand on Harry's  
  
shoulder.   
  
"We've all got to get through this together...Harry, we're both really sorry about..him...but...our  
  
lives must go on..." Hermione said kindly. Harry looked very depressed.  
  
"Sometimes I just wish Voldemort would do me in so I could be with my parents and Sirius.."  
  
Harry was frowning, while Ron and Hermione looked horrified at his statement.   
  
"Harry...don't talk like that..." Ron said, with his voice shaking a bit. Harry shrugged.  
  
Hermione's mouth was hanging open. Then she spoke.   
  
"Maybe you should come down to dinner..." She suggested gently. Harry was getting a bit  
  
hungry, as he hadn't eaten much since he arrived. It was just so hard to be with everyone at  
  
mealtimes and remember Sirius grinning at him from across the table. Tonight he decided to join  
  
everyone however.   
  
Harry nodded. "I guess I'll go to eat..." So Harry, Ron and Hermione descended to the kitchen,  
  
which was very full. Mrs. Weasley was in the corner baking some bread while various utensils  
  
made salads. She smiled largely when she saw Harry, and he managed a tiny grin at her.   
  
"Mum, Harry'll be joining us tonight.." Ron stated.   
  
"Good!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Hermione, would you please be a dear and help Ginny set the  
  
table? We have many people coming tonight!"   
  
Hermione smiled at Mrs. Weasley, and took a stack of plates. Ginny was folding napkins and  
  
placing silverware on the table. It was an odd assortment of plates and silverware. It seemed to be  
  
many shabby collections pulled together to accommodate anyone. Ginny looked up as she placed  
  
a spoon with rose print next to a fork with a Black family crest on it.   
  
"Hullo Harry, nice to see you..." Ginny said, somewhat shyly. Somehow, he found himself  
  
smiling broadly at her.   
  
"You too, Ginny." Mrs. Weasley soon asked Harry and Ron to help get things ready as well, and  
  
set a table in the dining room. The last time Harry had been at Grimmauld Place, there was no  
  
dining room, only the kitchen. The dining room had an elegant chandelier that Sirius' mum most  
  
likely placed there. A large table was in the room with huge carved feet on the legs of it. The  
  
chairs and table both were made of cherry wood and the upholstering on the chairs was cream  
  
with vertical, tan stripes. It looked very nice indeed. The floor was hard wood with a cream and  
  
burgundy rug placed on it.   
  
Ron and Harry placed a yellow tablecloth on the table that had been given to them by Mrs.  
  
Weasley. It clashed terribly with the rug and chairs, but somehow to Harry it looked very homey  
  
with the mismatched plates and silverware.   
  
Slowly, in small groups or by themselves, wizards and witches began to appear for dinner.  
  
Remus showed up accompanied by Tonks, whose hair was short, curly and fuschia today.  
  
Kingsley came to dinner, with Mr. Weasley. Bill also arrived, with Fleur Delacour, who had  
  
recently joined the order. Apparently, she had also become Bill's girlfriend. Charlie also showed  
  
up, accompanied by Fred and George, who were wearing very nice robes. Apparently their joke  
  
shop was doing incredibly well. It comforted Harry a bit to see everyone else so happy. He  
  
wished he could only feel so good.   
  
That night, he went to bed a lot happier than he had been in a long time. But, during the night,  
  
something happened that ruined any feelings of joy Harry had. He was having a dream of  
  
Hogwarts, when suddenly it was interrupted by his scar aching. It was faint, but still hurt quite a  
  
bit. It got stronger, and his Hogwarts dream suddenly went black. Harry saw Bellatrix Lestrange,  
  
Lucius Malfoy, and Peter Pettigrew in a dingy, stone room that looked much like a dungeon.  
  
Lucius Malfoy was talking to Pettigrew in an angry voice as Bellatrix glared at him. Harry knew  
  
he should use his Occlumency – after all, these dreams were what had caused Sirius' death. But  
  
somehow he felt compelled to watch...Bellatrix was looking a lot older, and thinner. Her hair was  
  
peppered with grey and had bags under her eyes. Harry thought grudgingly, she lost her  
  
beauty...the Longbottoms lost their minds...Sirius lost his life.   
  
"Pettigrew! You clumsy, worthless, scum..." Lucius was saying, "You're hardly worthy to lick  
  
dirt off Lord Voldemort's shoes! Why would I trust you with something so serious?" Peter was  
  
cowering a little and wringing his hands together.   
  
"Lucius...If you knew...if only I could make them think...make them believe I'm innocent...I  
  
could get inside the Order! I could..." Peter was trying to convince Lucius of something...some  
  
trick to get inside the Order of the Phoenix! Lucius now seemed to be considering it.   
  
"And, Peter, how would YOU do this...task..?" Lucius asked. Bellatrix curled her lip.   
  
"Exactly what I was wondering, Lucius...Peter, how would someone as ...unlikely as you do  
  
this?" she asked smirking.   
  
Peter opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Voldemort entered the room. Harry's scar  
  
exploded with pain as he stared at those catlike eyes and slits for nostrils. Voldemort seemed  
  
angry.   
  
"FOOLS! IDIOTS! Do as I say...or I shall have to resort to other...methods." He paused for  
  
moment. "Potter..." he murmured, barely audibly. Harry heard it however. He knew he must get  
  
out of his dream! Or wake up! Voldemort spoke once more.   
  
"Bellatrix! Potter is watching! Get him!" Harry felt her now bony hands around his wrist. Part of  
  
him was in the dungeon. Soon Bellatrix would have him in the room! Suddenly, another hand  
  
pulled him from behind. He was jerked from Bellatrix's grasp and pulled back into his bed. Ron  
  
was sitting on his bed grabbing the back of his shirt, white as a ghost.   
  
"Harry! You were screaming..and clutching your scar!" Ron explained. Mrs. Weasley was  
  
standing at the door with Ginny and Hermione. Remus stood behind them, while Fred and  
  
George apparated in his room. Harry felt very embarrassed.   
  
"I'm sorry..." Harry explained. "But I saw Peter Pettigrew and Lucius Malfoy...and Bellatrix  
  
Lestrange...they were planning something..and then Voldemort came in..." several people winced  
  
as he said the name. "And my scar hurt...really bad...but...I think Peter is going to trick you all ...  
  
somehow. I don't know..." Mrs. Weasley looked concerned, while Remus stepped through the  
  
doorway.   
  
"I'm sending a letter to Dumbledore..." He took out a piece of parchment and wrote the  
  
following.   
  
"Albus Dumbledore,  
  
You have won the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Sweepstakes. Come and claim your prize  
  
immediately at our London office!   
  
–The Weasley twins."  
  
Harry looked very confused. Remus nearly smiled. "It's code." He then got a grey owl Harry had  
  
never seen before and attached the letter to it's leg. "Dumbledore will be here tomorrow." Remus  
  
explained. "If Dumbledore is sent a letter announcing he won a Weasley's Sweepstakes, he  
  
knows you've had another dream. If we ask him to claim the prize, he will know he is to come to  
  
Grimmauld Place. Just safety precautions." Harry nodded. He was very thankful that Dumbledore  
  
was coming soon. He could see Mrs. Weasley shooing Fred, George and Ginny from the room as  
  
Ginny said, "Mum! I want to talk to Harry!" Harry would have liked to talk to her too, but Mrs.  
  
Weasley hushed her and made her leave with her brothers. Mrs. Weasley sat in Harry's armchair,  
  
while Remus conjured another for himself. Hermione and Ron sat on Harry's bed and looked at  
  
him expectantly and somewhat nervously.   
  
Remus gently began.   
  
"Harry...would you like to talk?"   
  
He nodded slightly, and Remus began asking him questions. He explained the whole dream, and  
  
all he was feeling about Sirius. Everyone was sympathetic, and Remus clutched the arm of his  
  
chair tightly at some points. When he finished, Mrs. Weasley let out a great sigh. She walked  
  
over to the bed and hugged Harry tight. He hugged her back, wondering in his mind if his mum  
  
would have hugged like that. When Mrs. Weasley pulled away, Harry quickly brushed a tear off.  
  
He didn't want Ron or Hermione to see him cry. Mrs. Weasley gave Harry the biggest smile she  
  
could muster and told him goodnight. Remus left shortly afterward, and told the three to be  
  
careful.   
  
Ron and Hermione shifted to the seats Mrs. Weasley and Remus had been sitting in. They just sat  
  
there awhile, and Harry found it quite comforting. He battled with himself in his mind, whether  
  
or not to tell them the prophecy. Eventually, he spoke up, breaking the silence in the room.   
  
"Ron...Hermione...there's something I need to tell both of you. Dumbledore told me last year..."   
  
Harry told them the prophecy as Hermione cupped her hand over her mouth and Ron looked  
  
horrified. A tear fell down Hermione's face, and then Ron began to cry too. Harry was truly  
  
touched by his friend's dedication to him. Tears began to trickle down his cheeks as well.  
  
Hermione got up and walked to Harry, followed closely by Ron. They all three hugged each other  
  
tightly, and didn't let go for a long time. It was the first time they had all been so emotional  
  
together.   
  
Harry felt all the emotions that had been building up inside of him flow free in his tears. As he  
  
hugged Hermione and Ron, he felt safer and more loved than he had in his life. Hermione choked  
  
a sob.  
  
"We'll be by your side the whole way Harry..." Ron nodded at Harry and he felt very warm  
  
inside. Nobody else spoke for a long time after, and eventually fell asleep. Hermione and Ron  
  
both slept in the armchairs in the room that night beside Harry's bed.   
  
The two of them slept, eyes rimmed with red, while Harry lie awake, staring at his two best  
  
friends. Unable to sleep, he gazed at Ron for a little while.   
  
His best friend Ron...in too-small pajamas with his freckles and bright, red hair. And  
  
Hermione...with her bushy hair and nightshirt. He knew one thing just then– – he could never  
  
leave them. He would ask Remus to help him fight! He would study very hard, and become the  
  
best wizard he could be.   
  
Eventually he fell asleep, with only one thing on his mind. He would have to be a murderer...or  
  
be murdered. 


	3. A visit to the Burrow

Harry awoke the next morning to see Hermione and Ron still asleep in the chairs they had fallen  
  
asleep in. Ron was snoring loudly and had thrown his legs over the arm of the chair. Hermione  
  
had conjured an ottoman, once more surprising Harry with her cleverness. She was resting her  
  
head on the chair's arm and had a flannel blanket. Harry stared at his two best friends and  
  
grinned.  
  
Just then, Hermione opened her eyes a tiny bit and then all the way. She smiled at Harry sleepily.   
  
"Good morning Harry." She said, suppressing a yawn. Ron, hearing the other two talking,  
  
stretched his arms out wide and yawned with his mouth open very far. Harry and Hermione both  
  
just looked at him and grinned.   
  
"G'Morning." Ron said to both of them. They both responded, and made Hermione leave so they  
  
could change. Both of the boys put on jeans and t-shirts while Harry tried to comb his hair down.  
  
It wouldn't go down, so he did an imitation of his father and ruffled it ferociously. Ron was  
  
smiling at him.   
  
"New look?"   
  
Harry just laughed. "Sure, Ron." He ruffled it further while Ron laughed. Then, there was a  
  
knock on the door followed by the voice of Mrs. Weasley.   
  
"Breakfast, boys!" They looked at eachother excitedly and raced down the staircase. When they  
  
arrived in the kitchen, Hermione and Ginny were both already there, along with Remus, Molly,  
  
Arthur, and Tonks. Hermione, Ginny and Tonks were all looking at Witch Weekly and giggling  
  
while Ginny blushed a shade of crimson. Harry and Ron sat next to Remus while Remus beamed  
  
at Harry.   
  
"Harry, from a distance you looked just like your father." Harry smiled at this compliment. He  
  
realized now that what his father had done to Snape was when he was young-similar to himself  
  
and Malfoy. Snape probably had acted a lot like Malfoy too when he was younger.   
  
"Thank you.." Harry replied, but was quickly cut off by Mrs. Weasley's presentation of breakfast.  
  
She put a plate in front of Harry filled with bacon, scrambled eggs, two biscuits, two sausage  
  
links, and a small bowl of Quidditch Crunch, a wizarding cereal with marshmallow Snitches ,  
  
broomsticks, bludgers and other things associated with Quidditch.   
  
"Wow! Kind of like Lucky Charms!" exclaimed Harry. The others all looked quizzically at him  
  
while Hermione smiled and explained to Ginny.   
  
"A Muggle breakfast..." She said while Ginny and Tonks nodded, as Kreacher limped through  
  
the room muttering, "Muggle breakfast...the scum.."   
  
"Mrs. Weasley.." Harry continued, "I really don't need this much.." She smiled at him.  
  
"You're all skin and bones, Harry! Eat up now!" Mrs. Weasley commanded.   
  
Everyone had a great breakfast, and near the end of it, Hogwart's letters arrived. The book list  
  
was rather extensive this year, and to Mrs. Weasley's great joy Ginny had been made Prefect.  
  
Hermione had been made Head Girl, of course, but neither Ron nor Harry had been named Head  
  
Boy. It was a great mystery to them who could be the Head Boy of Gryffindor.   
  
After breakfast, everyone helped Mrs. Weasley clear the table quickly, with their stomachs  
  
feeling near a point of explosion. As soon as the table was cleared off, Arthur Apparated to work  
  
and Tonks Apparated as well since she had to do some "work", but everyone else knew it was  
  
something for the Order. Mrs. Weasley asked the rest if they'd like to visit the Burrow, and they  
  
agreed. Lupin decided to remain at Grimmauld Place in case someone stopped by.   
  
So, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry set off for the Burrow. Once they arrived, It  
  
was afternoon and quite a sunny day. The day reflected Harry's mood; he was happier now than  
  
he had been in a very long time. The Burrow looked just the same as ever, except Harry observed  
  
they had invested in some new shutters and painted the house.   
  
"Do you like our paint job?" Mrs. Weasley asked eagerly. "Fred and George had it done for us!"  
  
Harry told her it looked very nice, and smiled to himself. Indeed, the brown paint with green  
  
shutters looked wonderful, but no matter what they did this was the Burrow- and to Harry, it felt  
  
like home.   
  
He went inside, following Ron and Ginny. Hermione kept nudging him in the ribs.   
  
"What Hermione?" he finally asked.   
  
"Just...I didn't really get to tell you over the summer...you've really grown up...a lot." She said ,  
  
somewhat nervously. Harry wasn't really sure what to say.  
  
"You too. And Ron! You both look great!" She smiled, but it was a bit weak as if that hadn't  
  
been the response she wanted. Ron turned around and smiled at both of them happily. They all  
  
entered the Burrow and looked around. It was still very cozy and homey, with quilts thrown over  
  
chairs, hand woven rugs on the floors, and the clock with the Weasley's names on it. Harry  
  
noticed however that Percy was no longer on the clock face. The four of them, Ron, Hermione,  
  
Harry and Ginny, walked around outside in a small forest near the Burrow, with Ron carrying a  
  
large basket on his arm.   
  
"Ron, this is a great place! How come you never brought us here before?" Hermione was  
  
questioning him. He shrugged.   
  
"I guess I just never really thought of it.."   
  
Hermione and Ron walked ahead while Ginny and Harry walked a few steps behind them. Ginny  
  
was grinning.  
  
"My brother and Hermione make a sweet couple.." She giggled. Harry grinned too.  
  
"They really do..." He had to laugh. Ginny had become so observant about things like that. She  
  
actually had been the one to set Fleur up with Bill by "accidently" hinting they were good  
  
together. "I heard you're the one who got Bill and Fleur together."   
  
Ginny smiled. "I like Fleur. She's much sweeter now than when we met her. Something has  
  
changed in her...I just noticed her eyeing Bill all the time...hey," Ginny stopped talking about her  
  
brother and smirked. "Are you still eyeing Cho Chang nowadays?"   
  
Harry blushed a bit. Ginny had become so straightforward and clever too.   
  
"She and I had a small...falling out last year..." Harry explained.   
  
"I thought so.." Ginny said, "I heard that she and Roger Davies got together..."   
  
Harry nodded. For a few more minutes they were silent, until Ron turned around. The group had  
  
been walking now for a half an hour up a rather large hill and had reached the top.   
  
"Here we are!" Ron said happily. Ginny was grinning.   
  
"This is where we spent some of our happiest childhood memories!" Ginny explained. "Fred,  
  
George, Ron and I came up here all the time. The others thought we were dumb..."   
  
Ron was beaming. "We used to play Muggles..."   
  
Hermione interjected, "I used to play Witches!" Ron looked at her strangely and continued  
  
staring around the meadow. There was a huge tree in the middle with outstretched branches,  
  
while the rest was grass. Some thistle and daisies also grew in the meadow. A small pond was  
  
also in the meadow , but the only thing around the meadow's edges was forest. Ron grinned.   
  
"Come here." He said waving his hand at them and walking towards the small pond. He pulled  
  
some bread crumbs out of his pocket and handed some to Hermione and Harry. Hermione took a  
  
pinch and threw it in the pond. After a few seconds, multicolored fish swam to the surface and  
  
nibbled on the bread crumbs. The fish had prismatic scales that shone in various shades of pink,  
  
blue, silver and purple. Harry followed Hermione's example and threw pinches of bread crumbs  
  
into the pond. Ron was grinning.   
  
"What'dya think of our fish?" he asked his friends proudly.   
  
"They're great!" Hermione exclaimed. Everyone sat around the pond a few more minutes and fed  
  
the fish, then Ginny and Hermione picked flowers.   
  
"They're for mum," Ginny explained, while Hermione nodded. Harry and Ron sat under a large  
  
tree and watched the girls while talking.   
  
"So..Harry..." Ron began, "What'dya think of Mione?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.   
  
"She's my friend...what do mean?" Harry asked, not comprehending what Ron wanted him to  
  
say.   
  
"I mean...she looks different now...she's still our Mione...but..there's something different. She's  
  
not so obsessed with homework." Ron explained. Harry then grinned, understanding it.   
  
"Ron...do you like Hermione?" he asked quietly, so the girls couldn't hear.   
  
Ron's face turned a deep crimson red. "I think I do..." Harry smiled.   
  
"Thought so."   
  
Then Ron looked as though a terrible thought occured to him, "Am I...obvious??"   
  
Harry shook his head. "No. What's going on with her and Victor?"   
  
Ron looked a little upset at the mention of Victor's name. "I'm not sure...I was wondering  
  
though..could you...er—find out for me?"   
  
Harry thought about it for a few seconds, and nodded slowly. "I'll ask her."   
  
After about fifteen minutes more Hermione and Ginny plopped down under the tree where Ron  
  
and Harry sat, both grasping a huge amount of flowers. It consisted of daises and other  
  
wildflowers.   
  
"What are you going to put those in?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Honestly...you'd never think you're a wizard..." She pulled out her wand and conjured a clear,  
  
blue vase with a smug expression on her face and placed the flowers in it.  
  
Ron opened his mouth to argue, but looked as though he thought better of it, then pulled the large  
  
basket beside him that he had brought with him. He opened the lid and inside were four  
  
sandwiches and four butterbeers, plus some apples and bananas.   
  
"Picnic!" Ron exclaimed, as everyone dug into the picnic basket. As Ron pulled his sandwich out  
  
of the basket, his arm brushed Hermione's, who was reaching for a corned beef sandwich. Small  
  
pinpricks of pink appeared on her cheeks as her eyes met Ron's, as she quickly grabbed the  
  
sandwich. Harry grinned to himself at his best friends. He decided that night he would have a talk  
  
with Hermione just as Ron requested. 


	4. But He is my friend

After the picnic in the meadow, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked back to the Burrow. It  
  
was evening, and they slowly proceeded back to the house in the setting sunset. Little bits at a  
  
time, fireflies would emerge (Ron swore he saw a little fairy) from the trees surrounding the  
  
steep  
  
path down the hill. It was darker on the path, as the trees blocked out most of the sunlight, so  
  
everyone had their wands out and lit.   
  
Everyone was walking side by side, with Ron on one end, and Hermione next to him. Harry  
  
stood  
  
on Hermione's other side, with Ginny beside him. Suddenly, Ginny tripped over a root which  
  
was  
  
protruding from the ground.   
  
"Oh!" she said as she fell, grasping Harry's arm as she tumbled to the ground. Harry looked  
  
down  
  
at her as Ron and Hermione whipped around hearing her gasp. Her ankle was twisted strangely  
  
behind her and her hands were scraped up. Ginny's face got rather red. Ron crouched down  
  
beside  
  
his sister.   
  
"Gin, are you okay?" he asked, then placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt her ankle gently.   
  
"My ankle hurts.." she answered Ron, "It feels sprained..."   
  
Hermione kneeled down as well, and examined Ginny's ankle.  
  
"Can you do anything to help her?" Ron asked Hermione hopefully. Hermione looked at the  
  
ankle  
  
again. It was rather swollen.   
  
"I think I know a medicine that would treat it...I could easily make it and we would just have to  
  
rub it on her ankle...I would need someone to help me get ingredients...luckily they're all  
  
natural..." Hermione cupped her hand on her chin.  
  
"Okay," Ron said determinately, "Harry, you go with Mione and I'll stay with my sister."   
  
Harry and Hermione nodded, although Hermione looked a little put out it was Harry going with  
  
her instead of Ron. The two headed into the trees as Hermione told Harry what they required for  
  
the ointment.   
  
"We need...four pine needles...two red berries...a dab of water..and honeysuckle." She looked up  
  
for a second and added, "oh, and a rock to crush the ingredients." as an afterthought. Harry just  
  
smiled at his friend as they began searching.   
  
"So, Hermione," Harry said as he picked up four pine needles, "how was your summer?"   
  
She shrugged. "It was rather nice...Mum and Dad took me to Italy...I missed you and Ron  
  
though." Harry nodded.  
  
"I missed you two as well..did you talk to Victor any?" Harry added innocently.   
  
Hermione shook her head 'yes'.   
  
"Victor is out of Durmstrang now...he's dating Miss Bulgaria..you know, from the Muggle  
  
pageant..well, turns out she's a witch..."  
  
Harry laughed, as did Hermione. "Somehow it doesn't bother me much..." She finished. Harry  
  
looked at his friend, who was picking red berries off of a bush.  
  
"Oh...so you don't like Krum anymore?" Harry asked. Hermione shook her head.   
  
"No, I don't. I really just want to be penpals with him. He's rather nice..but not boyfriend  
  
material."   
  
"What do you consider boyfriend material, Hermione?"   
  
She looked very taken aback by the question. "Well..." she stared down at the small creek  
  
running  
  
by from which she was scooping water. "Uhmm...someone like Ron?" She had begun blushing  
  
heavily. "I mean..not Ron necessarilly...just someone similar..."   
  
Harry grinned at her. "You like Ron!" Hermione's face got even redder, if possible than it  
  
already  
  
had been.   
  
"Well..yes."   
  
Harry had to grin again. It was so odd to see Hermione so embarrased! He patted her back  
  
heavily,  
  
"Aw, Mione, I promise not to tell him. But you really should sometime..."  
  
Hermione just smiled at Harry , but bit her lip. "No Harry, I can't."   
  
Harry's smile evaporated into thin air. "Why?"   
  
She started chewing on her nails. "He's my friend...Oh, Harry...he wouldn't like me."  
  
He wasn't sure if he should reveal Ron's secret...but Harry thought a small hint would be nice.  
  
"Well..maybe he likes you..."  
  
Her eyes lit up at the thought. "You think so?" she asked hopefully. Harry winked.   
  
"I'm not entitled to say.." Hermione smiled.   
  
"I'll tell him tonight." 


End file.
